Loneliness is a Privilege

The single malt taste of the essentiality that makes conscious belonging possible ...

Wow. What a week. What a month. What a life. 

In the past ten days, I helped pull off the Teton Leadership Center conference and re-discovered “my purpose” in an intense 2-day “Purpose to Impact” workshop,*** all while juggling a sick teenager, an ailing father, two nutty dogs, and seven nights of dinner parties. 

This morning, as I lay in bed alone with two glorious fall weather-weekend days ahead with no obligations, no plans, no “must-dos,” I remembered a “cento”* I wrote a few months ago inspired by David Whyte’s short essays called “Loneliness,” from his book Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment, and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words. 

Loneliness is a Privilege

Loneliness is unspoken desire
a prison, a bodily ache
a penance, a voice that asks and calls 
for that great unknown.

Loneliness is its own 
beautiful reversal
magnified by imagination; the
gravitational field that calls us home. 

Loneliness is our body’s constellation
attempting to become proximal 
where we pay attention to voices 
other than our own.

Aloneness is a friend, 
our invitation, the 
hand reaching out, the
truth of our unutterable singularity 
that can kiss and 
make a vow or 
forge a shared life and 
join with others to make a society.

Loneliness is the 
single malt taste of the 
essentiality that makes 
conscious belonging possible. 

Loneliness is the
courage to continue calling 
to the far horizon 
that answers back.

Loneliness is a 
priviledge. 

---

*Cento is a historic poetic form that relies entirely on other poets’ published works originating from the ancient Greeks who assembled centos in homage to Homer. Essentially, it gives permission to appropriate or borrow the words of others. “By taking a break from the constraints of your own mind, you are free to play, to make connections,” but still allow your unique ‘voice’ to come into play.

**If you need a great gift for a graduation, divorce celebration, get well, condolence, or just for yourself, Whyte’s Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment, and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words is a special gem.

***In case you’re wondering - my re-discovered purpose is to Be Wild. And do things better than the boys. More on this later :)